Next Stop: Tampa Bay

Ex-Devil David Hale is moving on to his fourth NHL team in as many seasons. The Devils traded him to Calgary on February 27, 2007. He finished off that season and the next in Calgary before signing as a free agent in the summer of 2008 with the Phoenix Coyotes. Yesterday, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Talk about playing four corners

David Hale was never a fan favorite but his story is an interesting one. He was the Devils first round draft pick (22nd overall) in 2000. Back then, many were comparing him to Scott Stevens. Like most Devils' prospects, David would not turn pro right away but instead continued his development at the University of North Dakota. He would play there with his older brother, Ryan, a dream their mother got to see before passing away after a battle with breast cancer.
David's story of adversity does not end there. After losing the 2001 NCAA Championship to Boston College, he ran into health problems.

David was diagnosed with a condition called IgA nephropathy, a disorder
caused by deposits of a protein in the kidneys that interfere with their ability
to filter bodily wastes. Although there is no cure for the disease, proper rest
and diet can help minimize its effects.
“To this day, I still don’t fully
understand it,” David says. “It really acts up when I get run down and don’t
take care of my body as well as I should. I run a fever and get lightheaded.
It’s not that bad. I’ve gotten used to it. It recurs every once in a
while.”
The condition bothered David throughout much of the 2001-2002 season
and forced him to miss an entire series at one point.

Hale made the leap to the NHL for the 2003-2004 season playing 65 games for the New Jersey Devils aquiring only 4 assists, but a career best +12 +/- rating, and 72 penalty minutes. Due to the lockout, David would play the following season in Albany. Unfortunately, symptoms of his liver disease would resurface and cut his season short. He would start the 2005-2006 season in Albany as a result but eventually was called back up to the Devils. David has stayed in the NHL ever since except for a brief reconditioning assignment during the 2006-2007 season after missing 14 games to an eye injury. He never lived up to the high expectations though and was traded along with a 5th round pick to aquire a third round pick ending his career in New Jersey. Probably the most memorable thing about his time as a Devil for me though, was the great picture I took of him during a preseason game in Hershey.

Hale didn't produce much offensively in Calgary (2 assists in 69 games) but had a career year offensively with the Yotes last season (3 goals, 6 assists in 48 games). However, his +/- rating was a career worst -11. Well, at least he finally scored his first NHL goal, that's good, right?